Sirius was right to want to do it while Dumbledore was out, because Dumbledore was really having a headache right now.

Because of the Triwizard Tournament, the Quidditch World Cup, and his infancy student program, Dumbledore has to travel to France to participate in the International Union of Wizards within a month.

□N

Although he is not too interested in politics, he still has to perform certain political obligations, such as fighting for the international interests of Britain and maintaining the mainstream ideology of the international wizarding community after the Grindelwald Rebellion.

Like Hitler, although the troubled times of Grindelwald have come to an end, it is like an unquenchable wildfire, but his thoughts are still spreading poison, and there are many people who take his thoughts as a guide. Just like Luna's father Lovegood, still bearing the symbol of Grindelwald, Dumbledore felt compelled to stare.

And Lockhart in Hogsmeade also entrusted him with one thing - he hoped that Dumbledore could talk to the president of the African Confederation to let them relax the investment of British wizards in Nigeria, and implied that Dumbledore There will definitely be his benefits.

To be honest, Dumbledore wasn't too impressed with Lockhart's money offensive. He himself was one of those people who could say "Smash it as much as you like, I've got too much money" to Harry. Too much demand.

But Lockhart said that he was fulfilling last year's agreement - he had promised Dumbledore that the black market in Knockturn Alley would be banned.

Io As long as the Triwizard Tournament is successfully held, we can take the opportunity of tourists from all over the world to build an international import and export commodities fair in Hogsmeade, and

Reduce the tax rate to 5% in one go, and the black market status of Knockturn Alley will cease to exist..."

If Lockhart had not reminded him, Dumbledore might have forgotten about it.

---- There are politicians who are willing to fulfill the verbal agreement before coming to power, which is really beyond Dumbledore's cognition.

However, Dumbledore agrees with strengthening the status of Hogsmeade.

This is not because his family also has real estate in Hogsmeade, but because he thinks this can add a "business center" property to Hogwarts' "education center". It's better to exert your influence.

So he decided to grant Lockhart's request" even though the vast majority of those who benefited from the oil trade were pure blood.

But what made Dumbledore indecisive was that he had no idea what the follow-up would be.

He decided to talk to Lockhart.

Chapter One Hundred and Ninety-Eighth Brother Dumbledore

Early in the morning, just as Sirius was lying in his dog house, fantasizing about the scene where Peter Pettigrew would be skinned and cut into pieces, he suddenly heard an unfamiliar footstep outside.

This footstep was obviously not Lockhart's nor Dobby's, because it was heavier than Lockhart's, and the sound of the end of the robe rubbing on the ground was a little off - Hogsmeade residents because they usually The reason for work, this kind of robe is rarely worn.

In line with the "job" of the home and nursing home, Sirius got out of the dog house, ready to bark twice to show his due diligence and avoid suspicion from others.

Release          /p>

As soon as he screamed, he was so frightened that the series of barks behind him were choked back.

Through the morning mist, Sirius caught a glimpse of the iconic gray beard and the half-moon-shaped glasses, which he could not forget even after so many years of graduation.

Wang Wang, the principal is here!

Although Sirius and the others had good grades when they were in school, it was still difficult to conceal the fact that they were problem students.

Filch's former administrator, Apollion Pringle, although he likes to physically punish students at every turn, and Arthur Weasley has also been treated badly by him, even he has taken the robber four. There's nothing the group can do.

You must know that the only one who couldn't deal with so many administrators before was the saucy Peeves, but when he took office, he found five all at once, which was really exhausting. If it weren't for the poor relationship between Peeves and the Robbers, Pringle might not have survived the time Filch came to take over.

The person who stood up to save him at this time was the headmaster Dumbledore. No matter how many embarrassing tricks the four robbers used, Dumbledore could crack one of them, and then drag the four little **** away. Come and pack up.

Therefore, Sirius is not afraid of Pringle, but he is very afraid of Dumbledore. Although he is not afraid to the extent of his genes, he is at least afraid of his bones.

Although he had barely uttered a sound before closing his mouth, Dumbledore noticed Sirius.

"Nice little guy." He commented casually and knocked on the door of the Shrieking Shack.

If the dog didn't say a word after seeing him, or yelled when he first saw him, maybe the dog wouldn't get the same evaluation because it's a very normal reaction for a normal dog.

But this **** dog just roared twice and then closed his mouth, which shows that it is very clear about the strength comparison between the two sides, and it is a smart dog.

And Dumbledore can also feel that there is magic in this guy.

But that didn't make Dumbledore too concerned, because that's normal in the wizarding world.

This is the side effect of people living for a long time. In the eyes of young people, he has basically seen anything strange, and he has long seen it.

There are many animals that can feel the concentration of magic in wizards, such as swallow-tailed dogs, owls, little devils, invisible beasts, ball ducks, etc. It is not uncommon for wizard families to have one or two such dogs. Even the Ministry of Magic's Pest Control Service keeps a bunch of albino white hounds to help wizard families drive away gnocchi before they destroy wizards' farms.

Since Lockhart is now working at the Ministry of Magic, it is not difficult to get a pup from the Ministry of Magic, so Dumbledore didn't even ask.

Lockhart had already finished washing up and having breakfast, and was waiting in the house

, After hearing the barking of the dog and the sound of the door, he immediately opened the door and welcomed Dumbledore in.

Blake shrank in a cold sweat and fearful for a long time in the dog house, and contrary to the usual practice of lying at the window to eavesdrop when a guest came, this time he didn't even dare to look out.

However, he also missed an important piece of information because of this, a piece of information that could save him a lot of detours.

"I don't know if you know, but there's a room at Hogwarts, and it's there when people need it -" Dumbledore opened with this sentence.

"You mean the room on the eighth floor opposite the portrait of 'The Troll Stick Beats the Silly Barnabas'?" Lockhart asked immediately.

Dumbledore smiled: "It seems that I don't need to explain."

"That's a good place, a lot of students like to hide there," Lockhart said with a shrug.

Although it is not clear why Voldemort dared to hide his Horcrux in the Room of Requirement, the explanation that "he was so confident that he thought that no one else could discover the Room of Requirement except him" was obviously unreasonable.

Because the Room of Requirement is full of things that many students have put there for more than 900 years, and many things, such as books, have the names of the treasurers written on them. Even if Voldemort had cerebral palsy, he should have noticed that none of those things came from the House of Requirement.

Therefore, I can only guess that he really hid it with his heart, but the method of hiding is to try to mix things up and put it together with a pile of inconspicuous garbage in order to escape the search, but I really don't want to find a stone or a can to deal with it. So I had to use Ravenclaw's golden crown.

However, Dumbledore obviously came to Lockhart not to talk to him about the Room of Requirement, but to explain to Lockhart.

"I just came here from the secret passage from the Room of Requirement to the Hog's Head Bar." Dumbledore said, "I was a little worried that Black came from there, but there is no recent movement in it, he should not know. "

Maybe I know now, Lockhart thought of the **** dog outside the window

But Lockhart thought too much. Sirius was shivering in the dog house now, and he didn't dare to eavesdrop at all, because he knew that as long as he eavesdropped, Dumbledore would definitely find out.

Besides, he probably hadn't thought of the existence of secret passages at Hogwarts and their group of robbers didn't know.

For example, the secret passage from the Pig's Head Bar to the House of Requirement, because of the unmarkable magic of the House of Requirement, even the Marauder's Map cannot mark this passage, and this secret passage has also become the fourth robber. The only one the group missed.

When Lockhart asked Aberforth why Dumbledore didn't fill the Hog's Head with tap water, Aberforth was clearly not telling the truth.

Any fear of customer disgust is actually fake. What he is really worried about is that if pipes are installed, the secret passage will be discovered by outsiders.

Mangbeforth will help me keep an eye on Hogsmeade, and if something goes wrong with the castle, he will come over and help me deal with it. ' said Dumbledore to Lockhart.

Lockhart wondered: "Then why are you telling me this?" "Because Aberforth is not strong enough," he said.

For some reason, Dumbledore's expression was a little solemn: "If his magic level was one tenth of mine, I wouldn't be as worried as I am now, but obviously he doesn't, even he can support Fox. the same."

His words would have made that man seem very arrogant no matter who said it but him, but it came out of Dumbledore's mouth very naturally and beyond doubt.

"That is, if there is an accident here when you go to France, I will

Going to Hogwarts from the underpass with your brother? ' Lockhart confirmed.

Dike, because there is no Apparition in or around Hogwarts, and I'm going to take Fox too... In case he's too impatient and uses Phoenix to drive over, it's hard to say whether he's helping or throwing himself in. "

"Have you told your younger brother that?" Lockhart asked curiously.

Dumbledore shook his head: "No."

Sure enough, every family has a scripture that is difficult to read - Lockhart sighed in his heart

In fact, when Hogwarts had four deans, no matter what the crisis was, it was not up to him and Aberforth to preside over the situation.

If Flitwick, McGonagall, and Snape all collapsed, it would be useless even if he went there, and he probably only served food.

So Dumbledore's true intentions are clear - he's less worried about Hogwarts than his grumpy brother will have a problem, so let Lockhart protect him.

Although he was concerned about his younger brother, he would not say this to Aberforth directly, because the two brothers had a bad relationship. If Albus had said to Aberforth bluntly, "You're too weak," the younger brother would have thrown him out on the spot with a broom.

But he knew Lockhart was a smart man, and he would know what he meant.

Sure enough, Lockhart understood in seconds.

"Don't worry, if I'm going to Hogwarts, I'll go with him, it's the duty of the Ministry of Magic officials," he assured.

"That's good." Dumbledore seemed relieved.

Poor principal.

Chapter 199: The Power of the Fresh Army

Because he came quietly, Dumbledore left without talking for a long time.

There is no need for him to ask about the changes in Hogsmeade, because he has long known that even if he deliberately understands, someone will find a way to tell him.

He promised to help Lockhart to unblock things in Africa, and he also promised to help him promote the Triwizard Tournament and Hogsmeade. As for how many international friends he could bring, and what could they bring for Britain? , it depends on whether Merlin is willing to give them good luck.

Sirius Blake waited until Dumbledore had left for a long time before he dared to get out of the dog house to breathe. He really didn't dare to take a breath just now, for fear of attracting the attention of the headmaster, and finally passed the border smoothly.

Dumbledore had no doubts, which meant that Lupin didn't "bet" him.

Black suddenly wanted to take the risk of meeting Lupin, because he always felt that Lupin hadn't reported that he was Animagus so far, which showed that the old classmate still had some kind of love for him. If he told him If Peter Pettigrew was still alive, maybe he would be willing to believe in himself.

But after thinking about it for a long time on the soft cushion of the kennel, he decided to give up the tempting idea.

—On the one hand, he was worried that Lupin's ears were too soft, and Peter Pettigrew would speak eloquently after being caught, so that Lupin relaxed control in doubt and took the opportunity to escape;

On the other hand, because of the need for revenge, he had to complete everything by himself, so that it could be regarded as a betrayal crime.

In a word, he doesn't believe anyone in the matter of revenge, and no one's credit in his eyes is as good as that of the mixed-race cat raccoon.

Just as he was thinking, there was another footstep outside.

Blackburn thought it was Dumbledore and returned, and without a word, he got back into the kennel again: but when the sound got close, he realized that the footsteps belonged to two people, one was wearing heavy boots, the other was wearing heavy boots. One was much lighter, and along with the air there was a faint scent of perfume in Blair's nose, which had been sharper of late.

Io is here, I hope this is over today, okay? Delaying time is not good for everyone. ' came a female voice.

"Okay, Miss Farley, the framework has been set. There are only a few details to confirm. I don't believe it will take much time."

Although the other voice showed that its owner was obviously older, the attitude and tone of his speech seemed a bit low-key and even a little flattering.

"That's great." Gemma Farley said in a tone, "I managed to win this opportunity. Originally, Nimbus and Comet had an advantage, but fortunately, people from Ravenclaw College are more competitive. Love to swipe…”

"I know that they are using Sweep Seven Stars, and I believe its speed and braking will never be worse than Nimbus 2000." The visitor seemed confident.

"But your opponents are Nimbus 2001, Twig 94, and the Firebolt...especially the Firebolt. Compared with your company's products, its performance is simply - riding Juechen, right?"

Another voice seemed a little embarrassed: ""Yes, but...Although the Firebolt has the strongest performance, many parts require goblin-made iron, so it is destined to not be mass-produced, and we don't need to pay too much attention, and our Sweeping Eleven star…"

Then the sound was much quieter, and then there was a knock on the door.

It seemed that it was just a broom maker who came to Lockhart to negotiate a sponsorship deal.

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief, as long as it wasn't Dumbledore, he wasn't at all worried about revealing his identity in front of others.

And..."Firebolt is the most powerful", right?

In the room, Lockhart received representatives of the Broomstick Company, who was the first businessman in the true sense to come to negotiate a sponsorship contract with the Ministry of Magic.

"This is Dieter Oletown, the business representative who swept the company." Gemma introduced to Lockhart.

"Nice to meet you." Lockhart politely shook hands with the other party, "Please forgive my rudeness, but... your surname is Oletown, isn't it?"

The visitor naturally understood what Lockhart was asking, so he straightened his chest: the father of the grave, Cliffrd-Oletown. "

"It turns out that you are the descendant of Mr. Barnaby Oletown." Lockhart made a "long-awaited" appearance, complimenting the other's family. The deeds of the eight sweeping the three brothers are really fascinating. When Europe was troubled by the shortage of Moon Dream and Oak Arrow 79, it was the three of them who introduced standardized operations and mass production into the broom manufacturing industry, which was undoubtedly a very smart and courageous act. "

The founders of the sweeping company were three brothers, Bob, Bill and Barnaby, who belonged to the Oletown family name, and the Deextrmd Mr. should belong to the family business member of "D-generation" Bai Jiugen Ming Miaozheng.

As for Lockhart's ability to remember his father's name, it's not surprising, because after wearing Ravenclaw's tiara for a few days, he has remembered almost all the names of the wizarding world's most famous people. It's harder for Muggles to memorize 10,000 words a week.

When he showed respect for the other's family, he must be able to respond to his respect, right?

Sure enough, Mr. Ollerton looked a little smug.

Although not a member of the Holy Twenty-Eight Purebloods, he also has reason to be proud of his family's nobility.

If you can also marry a pure-blooded family lady, then this noble

And it's even thicker...

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance at the lady beside him.

"The Sweep Company has decided to provide all players with the new Sweep Eleven for free during the Triwizard Tournament, and is willing to spend 2,000 Galleons in addition to sponsoring 1,000 Galleons to buy the exclusive advertising rights for the broom." Dieter Germany made his own terms.

This condition was much better than Lockhart had expected at first, but he didn't intend to just agree to it.

"Exclusive advertising rights? For the media, or for the arena?" Lockhart asked deliberately.

When facing a confident negotiating opponent, it is best to use some small means to make him impatient, and then use a methodical and calm statement and a firm attitude to soften the opponent's position, so as to maximize the interests.

Lockhart wasn't sure whether the wizards had specialized in negotiating skills, but he was certain that this young man with no shrewdness would definitely not be his opponent.

Dieterd was fooled: "Is there any difference between the two?"